Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Ossian (band)

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Active from
  
1976

Genre
  
Folk

Ossian (band) wwwspringthymecouk1004cd04Inlay70072jpg

Members
  
Tony Cuffe, William Jackson, Billy Ross, Iain MacInnes, John Martin, George Jackson

Record labels
  
Greentrax Recordings, Springthyme, Iona Records

Similar
  
The Tannahill Weavers, Hom Bru, Battlefield Band, Maggie MacInnes, Johnny Cunningham

Ossian are a Scottish traditional music group, formed in 1976.

Contents

The initial line-up brought together Billy Ross and former members of the group Contraband, Billy Jackson, John Martin, and George Jackson. One of their earliest gigs was at the 1976 Kinross Folk Festival.

Each of the members was a multi-instrumentalist and singer. Their arrangements of songs, slow airs and dance tunes were meticulous, almost a chamber music approach to Scottish Music. They sang in English, Scots, and Gaelic.

Billy Jackson's wire-strung harp, the clàrsach, featured in most pieces but he also played Uilleann (Irish) pipes and whistles. John Martin, who played fiddle and cello went on to become a member of The Tannahill Weavers. George Jackson (brother of Billy) played guitar, cittern, mandolin, fiddle, whistle and flute. Billy Ross was the main singer who played guitar, dulcimer and whistle.

Their first two LPs were remarkably popular and influential; Ossian (1977) and St Kilda Wedding (1978). Billy Ross left the band and was replaced by Tony Cuffe as lead vocalist also playing guitar and whistle. Iain MacDonald joined playing highland pipes, flute, and whistles. They broke up in 1989 when Tony Cuffe and William Jackson moved to the U.S. In 1997, William Jackson reformed the band with the original singer, Billy Ross, and the group made a CD and performed some gigs for a time.

Discography

  • Ossian - Springthyme Records SPR 1004 (1977)
  • St. Kilda Wedding - Iona Records IR001 (1978)
  • Seal Song - Iona Records IR002 (1981)
  • Dove Across the Water - Iona Records IR004 (1982)
  • Borders - Iona Records IR007 (1984)
  • Light On a Distant Shore - Iona Records IR009 (1986)
  • The Carrying Stream - Greentrax CDTRAX 127 (1997)
  • Songs

    Oidhche Mhath LeibhOssian · 1977
    The Road to Drumleman1981
    Drunk at Night - Dry in the MorningDove Across the Water · 1982

    References

    Ossian (band) Wikipedia